Vitola: Robusto- 5.5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $19.99
- Samples provided by General Cigar
Background
Early this year, General Cigar announced that their Cohiba brand was adding a new line: Cohiba Connecticut. They called it a “super-premium release” and brand ambassador Sean Williams added “our agronomists partnered with an independent grower in Ecuador’s Los Rios province to produce a silky and lustrous Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper…that was intentionally developed for its aesthetic qualities, with veins that are barely perceptible…[and it is] ideal for blending, as it maximizes the filler and binder leaves.”
As for filler, they used Brazilian Mata Fina and Dominican Piloto Cubano for complexity, Nicaraguan Jalapa to enhance strength, and Dominican Olor for added depth. A Mexican San Andres binder helps to deliver “optimal combustibility,” and blends with the rest to create a mild-to-medium cigar with a “rich aroma and compelling notes of sweetness and spice.”
Cohiba Connecticut started shipping to finer General Cigar retailers in March and is available in 4 sizes. General sent me samples of it for review purposes and this review is based on my 5th smoking of the blend. Leaf Enthusiast sponsor, Small Batch Cigar, offers Cohiba Connecticut on their online store.
Prelight
Perhaps in recognition of the “super-premium” price tag placed on the Cohiba brand, General has stepped up the banding game with this release. The band has a white background with gold diamond-shaped background and trimmed with holographic gold foil. The Cohiba “red dot” logo is in a black strip horizontally centered in the band and “Connecticut” is written below that. It’s a rich-looking band without being ostentatious or obnoxious.
The wrapper leaf was a dark gold color, fairly dark for a Connecticut Shade, but even in color and flawless as far as I could see. The veins were visible, but very small to feel under my fingertips. It had a clean hay-like aroma and slightly oily feel. The foot of the cigar had notes of earth and cedar and hay.
I clipped with my Xikar Xi cutter and got a good draw. Prelight flavors were slightly sweet, grassy, woody, and clean.
Flavor
The Cohiba Connecticut began light, sweet and creamy with toasty wood and grassy notes being the most noticeable things right off the bat. A few more puffs and I got some white pepper on the palate, while the retrohale had black pepper riding on a Dominican bread note. As the first third burned along, notes of cedar and toast increased while the grassiness receded a bit.
As I got into the second third the pepper on the palate had turned into more of a black pepper heat and there was some added molasses sweetness in the mix.
Getting into the final third of the Cohiba Connecticut, I got plenty of cedar still, along with earth and toasty notes, while pepper and sweetness faded quite a bit.
Construction
I had a very nice draw, even burn line and solid ash.
Value
Although it’s a really good cigar, I find it hard to justify the $20 price tag, well above a Padron Damaso and in direct competition with Davidoff white label offerings…and I just don’t believe it holds up to them.
Conclusions
The Cohiba Connecticut is a really good Conny with a nice amount of complexity, but suffers from a price tag that is just out of reach for the regular smoker and more suited toward special occasions and gift-giving. It’s definitely worth a try, though, as fans of Connecticut Shade blends might find something they really enjoy.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8.5/10
